THE SIXTH DEFINITION

According to the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary there are 11 definitions for the word FAIR. When I hear a sales rep use the word they are usually referring to the sixth (6^th) definition.

 http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fair?show=0&t=1306464006 for those of you who don’t believe me, here is the link to Fair in the MW Online Dictionary.

6  a : marked by impartiality and honesty : free from self-interest, prejudice, or favoritism <a very fair person to do business with> b (1) : conforming with the established rules : allowed (2) : consonant with merit or importance : due <a fair share> c : open to legitimate pursuit, attack, or ridicule <fair game>

We talk about the company not being fair, the manager not being fair, the industry not being fair, government regulations not being fair, and CUSTOMERS not being fair.

CUSTOMERS? Where does it say that customers need to be fair? Last I checked a customer was the one with the money, reps were the ones with products or services they are trying to exchange for some of the customers money. It is an old saying, but I believe in the Golden Rule, The One With The Gold Makes The RULES!

It would be great if we lived in a fair world, we all played fair and all parties acted in a fair and equitable way. I hate to be the one that tells you this but SALES AIN’T FAIR AND WE DON’T LIVE IN A FAIR WORLD.

So what do we need to do? Should we play unfair and join the rest of the people we interact with? Should we become what we hate in others just to be able to win? Should we compromise ourselves and allow ourselves to be manipulated by the sales environment into doing things that go against our core beliefs and are beneath our standards?

NO! PLEASE NO! PRETTY PLEASE WITH SUGAR ON TOP NO!

In sales we always want to win, and in many cases we get rewarded for winning no matter what we did to win. It is a shame that this happens, if every sales rep only got rewarded for good clean well done FAIR sales, our entire profession would benefit.

I don’t have the answers as to how to make the profession work and act fairly overnight. I do however know how to start. YOU and I need to make it our business to only work with integrity, to always be truthful and to be FAIR no matter what the outcome. If we all do this then one by one the number of FAIR sales reps will start to increase. In turn the customers will start to recognize the difference between a sales rep that has their best interest in mind and one that is only looking for the reward and not how they earn the reward.

Being FAIR makes the difference between being a FAIR sales rep and an excellent sales rep. There is a FAIR chance that you will do FAIRLY well if you are FAIR with your customers. Don’t be a FAIR weather sales rep and only be FAIR when it is easy, being FAIR is always FAIRLY easy if you have a FAIR understanding of what it means to be FAIR!

Lorin